“Throughout history, it has been the inaction of those who could have acted; the indifference of those who should have known better; the silence of the voice of justice when it mattered most; that has made it possible for evil to triumph.”
Haile Selassie

Saturday, February 22, 2014

By a 5-5- vote, Republicans on the Regional Operations Center (ROC) Investigating Committee Thursday night voted to block the committee from issuing a subpoena to Corporation Counsel and building landlord Alex Carroll to obtain documents necessary for the committee's investigation. The documents requested in the subpoena prepared by council attorney Fred Biesecker are:

1. Building permits issued by DCE for the ROC project, including those identified as STR11-02900, HTG11-07439, PLM 11-01904, and ELE11-03589, and all amendments and supplements thereto.

2. All amendments and supplements to the set of plans submitted to the DCE on July 29, 2011.

3. The set of plans dated October 27, 2011, which was provided to DLZ and discussed in the DLZ report.

4. Violations issued by the IFD on October 12, 2012.

5. The list of seven requirements for continued occupation of the leased premises, provided by DCE to Alex Carroll in October 2102.

7. The following documents, which are identified as "Operative Agreements" in the Mortgage, Security Agreement, Assignment of Leases and Rents and Fixture filing Statement, dated as of June 23, 2011, and recorded as instrument number A201100056539:

The Note Purchase Agreement, dated as of June 23, 2011, and the amortization schedule attached thereto

The Indemnity and Guaranty Agreement

The Escrow and Servicing Agreement

The Construction Escrow Agreement

The Assignment of Contracts

The Construction Completion Guaranty

The Hazardous Material Indemnity Agreement

The 5.01% Senior Secured Note, due December 15, 2037; and

The SNDA Agreement

8. Fire an life safety or code summary sheet, per 675 IAC 12-6-7(g)(4).

9. IFD inspection reports and checklists.

10. Inspection reports by Bruce Baun, Robert Zickler, or any other project manager/contract manager/consultant retained by DPS.

11. The contract or contracts with Hoffman Engineers, P.C.

12. Any certificates of completion and/or code compliance submitted to any federal or state agency.

13. All other credit tenant leases entered into by DPS since January 2010.

14. Communications between DPS and Channel 16 relating to the direct given by DPS in 2010 not to record [the] Board of Public Safety meetings or video, and the reinstatement of video in 2012.

15. Detailed project budgets for the project as presented to the Council committee on April 26, 2011, with total estimated costs of $8,643,000 and any subsequent amendments or supplements thereto.

16. The DPS proposal prepared before Frank Straub's arrival to house the emergency operations center at the old Indianapolis airport.

17. Documents related to the "preferential square footage rate" for moving the IMPD East District to School #78, as discussed at the May 16, 2011 Council meeting.

18. The memorandum circulated by Ryan Vaughn at the May 16, 2011 Council meeting.

19. The contract between 401-Public Safety, LLC and DPS, for the amount of $25,064,380.80 as listed on the agenda f the April 21, 2011 Board of Public Safety meeting.

20. The contract with the NFL that required the city to have an emergency operations center in tie for the 2012 Super Bowl.

21. The maintenance agreement referred to in paragraph 20 of the December 2013 settlement agreement.

22. Exhibits A, C, D, E and F to the Development Agreement.

23. Drafts of the Development Agreement, and related correspondence.

24. Drafts of the Lease, and related correspondence.

25. Documents sufficient to show how much money was actually spent on the ROC build-out.

26. Complete DCE files for all Notices of Violation and Stop Work Orders.

27. Links to two SharePoint sites established by or for Valerie Washington (these links were provided by DPS to OCC but neither has produced them).

28. Communications between Gary Coons and the NFL relating to the emergency operations center (these documents were provided by DPS to OCC but neither has produced them).

29. Eastgate project status report issued by Robert Zickler (this was provided by DPS to OCC but neither has produced it.)

30. Copy of punch list provided by Alex Carroll (this was provided by DPS to OCC, but neither had produced it.

31. E-ails to or from Frank Straub, or on which Straub was copied, relating to the ROC, for the period from April 12, 2011 through April 26, 2011.

32. E-mails to or from Jonathan Mayes or on which Mayes was copied, relating to the ROC, for the period from April 12, 2011 through April 26, 2011.

33. E-mails to or from Tom Michalak, or on which Michalak was copied, relating to the ROC, for the period from April 12, 2011 through April 26, 2011.

34. Documents explaining or showing the detailed components of the $3,627,400 in construction "hard costs" and $3,300,000 in "land costs" identified in the materials provided to the Council committee on April 26, 2011.

35. Documents sufficient to show the disbursement and use of the $9,616,000proceeds of the June 23, 2011 loan to 401-Public Safety, LLC.

36. Communications between the City and Carroll and/or Carroll's affiliated entities, for the period March18, 2011 through June 23, 2011.

37. Documents evidencing or relating to how DPS proposed to pay for the lease.

38. Documents sufficient to show how much money the City has actually spent so far in connection with the ROC, including but not limited to lease payments, utility and maintenance payments, costs of improvements and repairs, machinery and equipment, furniture and fixtures, contracts (consultants, project managers, outside counsel, financial advisers, etc.) moving costs, fire watch costs, and other goods and services.

39. Any independent appraisals of the leased premises.

40. Documents comparing the cost of the leased premises with the costs of other alternative locations considered by the DPS for the emergency operations center or the location of the IMPD East District.

41. Audit reports, internal or external, relating to the City's expenditures on the ROC.

42. Notices published by the Board of Public Safety in connection with the ROC lease, as required by IC 36-1-10-13.

Almost all of these appear to be public documents that anyone should be entitled to obtain. The fact that most of them have been requested since mid-November didn't stop Councilor Gooden from suggesting that Attorney Biesecker just didn't spend enough time working with Corporation Counsel and Alex Carroll's attorney, David Brooks, to try to work out the dispute over producing the documents. (Not sure what that dispute is supposed to be. Given the incredible specificity of the list, it's not like they didn't know what documents Biesecker wanted.) Councilor Sandlin's complaint that Brooks who was in the audience wasn't permitted to speak before the council.

That Republicans are blocking the investigating committee and the public from seeing public documents strongly suggests that there is something to hide. Haven't we Republicans learned anything from Watergate? Acting to cover up wrongdoing is often far worse than the wrongdoing that is being covered up.

UPDATE: A agenda item for Monday's Council session includes adding an 11th member to the ROC Investigation Committee. The Republicans' efforts to block an investigation of the ROC is about to end.

About Me

I have been an attorney since the Fall of 1987. I have worked in every branch of government, including a stint as a Deputy Attorney General, a clerk for a judge on the Indiana Court of Appeals, and I have worked three sessions at the Indiana State Senate.
During my time as a lawyer, I have worked not only in various government positions, but also in private practice as a trial attorney handing an assortment of mostly civil cases.
I have also been politically active and run this blog in an effort to add my voice to those calling for reform.